Why the Cannabis Industry Needs To Get Greener
People are hopeful that 2021 will be a better year for individuals and businesses than what we’ve endured this year as a result of COVID-19, political turmoil, and growing climate concerns. However, not every person, business, or industry has suffered from the detrimental effects of COVID-19, both personally and financially.
The cannabis industry, including hemp and marijuana, experienced financial growth and success throughout the pandemic, and was even declared an essential business by some jurisdictions. Through stay-at-home orders and social distancing, cannabis sales have surprisingly broken records in some states, including in Colorado, where the state set an all-time monthly sales high in July with medical and recreational dispensaries selling $226 million worth of product. Currently, Colorado’s annual sales have surpassed $1.6 billion and are on track to break 2019’s annual record of $1.75 billion in sales. This momentum is driving the cannabis and hemp industries towards 2021 with great optimism, even though we’re surrounded by calamity.
Although the cannabis industry is doing immensely well considering the circumstances, the industry still has its pitfalls and concerns going into the new year. Considering indoor cultivation specifically, perhaps the biggest concern is the industry’s carbon footprint. Unfortunately, much of the cannabis market’s perceived environmental unfriendliness stems from indoor cultivation. This often is a result of existing regulations that impose protective yet pollutive standards.
Curbing Energy Use
Indoor cultivation has its perks that attract growers, such as high yields, consistency, security, and reciprocity. However, the negative environmental effects associated with the indoor cultivation of cannabis are growing, and jurisdictions are taking action to control the industry’s collective environmental effects. It is essential for indoor cultivators to be aware of the pressing environmental concerns, as individual jurisdictions are promulgating rules that will directly impact the manner in which cannabis is grown indoors.
One of the major concerns indoor cultivators must be aware of is the amount of energy it consumes and the amount of carbon dioxide it produces. Unlike outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation requires growers to recreate the natural environment. This requires high-tech, energy consuming machinery that engulfs energy and emits carbon dioxide to emulate natural sunlight, a steady water supply, and air circulation.
A 2012 study revealed the staggering amounts of energy that the cannabis industry consumes annually: 6,074 kilowatts per kilogram produced. This total breaks down into individual sections of the cultivation process and identifies lighting as the largest consumer of energy, using 33% of the 6,074 kilowatts, followed by ventilation and dehumidification at 27%, and air conditioning consuming 19%. The study details that per one kilogram of finished product, 4,600 kilograms of carbon dioxide is emitted, which is as if a 44 mile-per-gallon vehicle drove across the U.S. 11 times.
Because of this high energy use, regulators have pinpointed indoor cultivation as an area in which regulations can be improved to encourage sustainability by reducing the impact of indoor cultivation. For example, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 67, which encourages sustainable cultivation by creating terroir-like, small-scale outdoor cannabis farming. SB 67 follows the Napa wine model and requires individual approval from California’s Department of Food and Agriculture. California anticipates that the curated and labor-intensive cultivation of cannabis will attract consumers to purchase products produced by the approved appellations, similarly to the prowess that follows champagne produced in the Champagne region of France.
In addition to small-scale outdoor cultivation, which is not a year-round option for all cultivators, another avenue to tame the industry’s carbon footprint is for individual jurisdictions to institute limits on the amount of energy cultivators can consume. In 2018, Massachusetts’ Cannabis Control Commission capped the amount of energy cultivators can consume at 36 watts per square foot. This type of jurisdictional action will require most cultivators, but not all, to invest in alternative energy production and/or employ equipment that runs cleaner to comport with the standards. This can financially burden unprepared cultivators; which means you should be ready to purchase, install, and learn new equipment to limit any business disruptions.
Dealing With Waste
In addition to energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, it is important to note that current regulations extend the industry’s carbon footprint by requiring all licensees to dispose of cannabis by mixing wasted product with other materials, such as sawdust or other approved substances, to make the waste unrecognizable and unusable. Although regulators had good intentions in mind when they implemented this standard, the mountainous amounts of organic waste is not as decomposable as natural plant material because the introduced non-organic substances hinder the earth’s ability to break down the organic material. Furthermore, the substances that are used to disguise the waste then enter into the ecosystem, further polluting the soil, air, and waterways.
The cannabis industry desires environmentally friendly amendment of the existing regulations that will encourage sustainability and ensure safe cultivation and production of products because the earth is in desperate need of action. Unfortunately, the industry currently lacks scientific research evaluating its industry’s environmental impact.
Adding further obstacles, the EPA is unable to study the environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation and associated pesticides use because marijuana remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act – a common theme that also exists throughout the federal regulation of hemp and implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. As a result, the industry is not equipped with the data that is urgently needed to combat the industry’s environmental impact, but is doing so at the state and local level.
We encourage all stakeholders to participate in the rulemaking process, including for the amendment of existing regulations as stakeholders possess the expertise to fuel rulemaking. Together, as a united force, the industry as a whole can revise the methods and process of indoor cultivation to encourage and ensure sustainability, all while engaging in this prosperous sector.
Election Implications
The recent election has stirred up conversation concerning how the incoming Biden administration will address the current federal legal status of cannabis. However, it is important to note that the addition of five states entering into medical and/or recreational cannabis will compound additional waste, energy consumption, and emissions upon the existing and growing environmental concerns. It is necessary for cannabis to be removed from the Controlled Substances Act to allow for independent researchers and the EPA to study the environmental impacts of cultivation that will guide the states through rulemaking.
Furthermore, it will take time for the new programs to get off the ground as these jurisdictions trudge through the initial rulemaking process. Considering the history of states joining the cannabis revolution, it is likely that these states will also require it to be cultivated indoors, which will increase the total amount of energy that is consumed by the industry as a whole, the total emissions, and the amount of non-organic substances used to dispose of waste. The battle against the industry’s carbon footprint requires collective cooperation and collaboration, as well as innovation by all involved, including licensees, consumers, and regulators.
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